Texan wins Saguaro Amateur at Southern Dunes

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Sean Walsh of Keller, Texas, and Gonzaga University dominated the field at the Saguaro Amateur at Ak-Chin Southern Dunes Golf Club.

Walsh shot 67 the final day for 15 under par. He won by five shots. Rico Hoey and Shotaro Ban, both from California, tied for second at 10-under.

"It was a great tournament,” Walsh said. “I really enjoyed the guys in my group the first two days. We really fed off each other the first day. … I was able to keep the ball in play and hit some good iron shots. That is what helped me the most this week more than anything.”

After the start of the tournament was delayed because of heavy frost on Jan. 1, Walsh shot a 65 his first day. He followed that up with a 69 on Day 2.

On the final day, Walsh's 67 included four birdies and an eagle on 16 with a lone bogey on 17.

“Playing today with Rico (Hoey), Ben (Doyle), and Chase (Hanna), I knew it would be a competitive day,” Walsh said. “Rico and Ben were hitting it close all day. Coming down the stretch I knew I had a little wiggle-room but also knew I needed to stay aggressive. The difference was when I hit a 4-iron to 20 feet in two on 16 and made the putt for eagle."

The top Arizona finisher was Colton Yates of Scottsdale, who tied for 11th place. He shot 64 on Sunday. It tied the tournament record held by two players—Grayson Murray from 2014 and Ben Doyle from this year's second round.

Kolton Lapp of Mesa and John Souza of Phoenix finished tied for 25th with scores of 216.

Defending champion Taylor Moore of Fayetteville, Arkansas, had a closing 67 to tie for fourth place with Britain’s David Snyder.

Walsh had a two-shot lead over Chase Hanna going into the final round, but Hanna stumbled and Walsh pulled away.

"It is a great way to start 2015, and it gives me a lot of confidence,” Walsh said. “My goal for this week was basically I just wanted to come out and hit off grass. Winning gives me the confidence I can go low against a great field. I was fortunate to make a couple more putts than the other guys."

On the six-hole #miniDUNES course, participants also played a shootout, with Chris Korte of Littleton, Colorado, tying the course record at 14 (-4) and winning a #miniDUNES flag signed by Fred Couples.

***ADVERTISEMENT***TOP 10
1. Sean Walsh (Keller, Texas) 65-69-67—201 (-15)
2. Rico Hoey (Rancho Cucamonga, California) 71-66-69—206
 Shotaro Ban (San Jose, California) 70-70-66—206
4. David Snyder (Somerset, Kent, U.K.) 67-72-68—207
 Taylor Moore (Edmond, Oklahoma) 72-68-67—207
6. Max McGreevy (Edmond, Oklahoma) 71-68-69—208
7. Ben Doyle (La Jolla, California) 73-64-72—209
 Nick Heinen (Edmond, Oklahoma) 73-66-70—209
 Luke Vivolo (Carmel, California) 71-67-71—209
10. Andrew Whalen (Ephrata, Washington) 73-67-70–210